“Discover Sicily: Hike, history, cuisine, & wine”
(No availability) 8 Day Sicily Hiking Tour
Katane Palace Hotel, Via Finocchiaro Aprile 110, 95129 Catania, Italy
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Tour in Italy
The largest island in the Mediterranean, Sicily combines fascinating history with spectacular scenery. This hiking tour brings you the best of the island’s east coast. They take you to remote villages, hidden gorges, and along skyline paths with epic views of Mount Etna. You will stay in the authentic village of Linguaglossa, the Baroque gem of Noto, and historic Siracusa on the island of Ortigia. Sicily’s diverse cuisine plays a starring role throughout the week as they take you to family-run trattorias, chic restaurants, and bustling food markets.
Highlights
- Hike scenic trails with breathtaking views of Mount Etna
- Explore ancient villages and historical sites
- Enjoy a farm-to-table experience with local Sicilian cuisine
- Wine tasting at the renowned Zisola winery
- Discover the Baroque architecture of Noto and Siracusa
- Learn from a professional volcanologist on Mount Etna
- Private van transfers from pick up on day 2 to the final transfer to Catania Airport
- Total of 7 nights in four accommodations + 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 5 dinners
Skill level
- Intermediate
6 days with instruction
Group size: 6-14 participants
Accommodation
Total of 7 nights accommodation:
- 1 night at Catania / 4-star
- 2 nights at Linguaglossa / 4-star
- 2 nights at Noto / 4-star
- 2 night at Siracusa / Ortigia - officially 3-star but 4-star quality
Program
About the Experience
Sicily is a fascinating destination that boasts a rich history, incredible natural beauty, impressive architecture, and mouth-watering culinary delights. This hiking tour will take you to some of the island's most remote villages, hidden gorges, and scenic paths.
You will spend your nights in Linguaglossa, a charming and authentic village, the Baroque gem of Noto, and Siracusa’s charming island of Ortigia. Throughout the week, you will indulge in Sicily's diverse cuisine as they take you to family-run trattorias, chic restaurants, and bustling food markets. You will even get to enjoy a lunch prepared by a family who produces traditional ricotta cheese at their rustic farm.
Additionally, you will have a chance to taste some of the island's best Nero d'Avola wines at their tasting at the beautiful Zisola winery. Come with them to hike through Sicily's beautiful landscapes, timeless villages and towns, and rich history while indulging in wonderful food and wine at the end of the day.
Additional information:
- Activity rating: 3/5 = Moderate
- In general: This is a moderate tour for fit hikers, and will be a little challenging but do-able for less fit hikers.
- Terrain: Rolling to hilly terrain with frequent climbs and descents, often over rocky terrain. May have some short, relatively steep climbs and descents.
- Actual hiking time: between 2 - 5 hours per day, mostly in the morning but also in the afternoon.
- Distances: Usually between 8 - 12 km (5 - 7 mi). Max distance is 14 km (8 mi).
- Surfaces: Trails consist mainly of compact earth and/or gravel and sometimes gravel roads, with occasional rocky and uneven trails
- Footing: Good, but on occasion you have to pay attention to where and how you place your feet. Proper hiking shoes with thick soles with good treads are required. Sport sandals, running shoes and tennis shoes are not adequate.
- Specifics: The hikes in Sicily aren't that long (max is 14 kms / 8 mi.) but there are some steep sections on rocky trail, plus one day of hiking on the volcanic terrain of Mount Etna (it's like hiking on loose gravel).
- Hiking Poles: Recommended but not required, but if you habitually use hiking poles then you will find them helpful
- Compared to the Cinque Terre: These tours are easier than the hikes in the Cinque Terre.
- Other: This tour is appropriate for fit, first-time “hikers” who enjoy hiking and who have good balance.
- Moderate Tours: Tuscany Chianti, Dordogne Hike, Sicily Hike, Spain Andalusia, Lake Como Hike, and Corsica Hike.
Detailed Itinerary:
Day 1 (September 14)
Check into your pre-booked hotel, the 4-star Katane Palace Hotel (or similar) in the heart of old Catania. The hotel is ten minutes by foot from the central pedestrian area of beautiful Baroque buildings, cafes, restaurants, and shops. Independent dinner in town.
- Overnight Catania. Hotel included. Dinner is not included.
Day 2 (September 15)
Meet your guides and the rest of the group at 09:00 this morning in the hotel lobby for 1-hour transfer to Linguaglossa, a historic village on the eastern flank of Mountain Etna. You are joined today by Gaetano, a very local fellow (everyone knows him) who regales you with stories of how life used to be. He leads you on a hike that follows a high crestline and affords magnificent views of distant Etna to the west and the shimmering Mediterranean to the south.
The destination is a very rustic farmhouse where you enjoy a uniquely delicious lunch of fresh, warm ricotta made for us, the traditional way, in a copper cauldron over an open fire. The salad, cheeses, and cold cuts are all grown and produced by their hosts. Gaetano treats you to some of his excellent homemade Nerello Mascalese wine. This is a true kilometer zero - farm to fork food experience!
After saying goodbye to their hosts, you hike a route that winds through olive groves, orchards, and vineyards and then follow a stream bed to return to Linguaglossa. If time allows, you have a short transfer to the spectacular Alcantara Gorge, whose jet-black walls were frozen into surreal shapes when a fiery lava flow came into contact with the icy river water. The hotel for the next two nights is the 4-star Shalai Resort (or similar). The Shalai is a lovingly
restored noble townhouse in the center of the village. You meet again this evening for a drink followed by dinner at a local osteria.
- The Hike: total distance 12 km / 7 mls (this can be shortened to 8 km).
- Total elevation gain / loss 360 meters / 1,150 ft. Duration: about 3.5 hours hiking.
- Overnight Linguaglossa. Breakfast, farm lunch, dinner, and hotel are included.
Day 3 (September 16)
Today, they take you to explore Mount Etna, Europe’s largest volcano, with the help of a volcanologist guide. The volcano is 3,400 meters (11,155 feet) high, with a perimeter of 250 km (155 mi.), making it the third-largest crater in the world. Their professional volcanologist will join them to hike across lava flows, craters, vents, and lava tubes. You will learn about the many fascinating aspects of Etna and how it has shaped the island's history.
The hike begins and ends at Rifugio Citelli. Situated at 1,751 meters / 5,600 feet, it provides a cool, quiet place for lunch. Return to Linguaglossa, where you can stroll through the village, enjoy one of Sicily’s renowned pastries, or relax at the hotel spa. Dinner in the village. Overnight Linguaglossa.
- The Hike: Distance and elevation gain changes because the hike changes according to the weather you encounter on Etna.
- Usually, the hike between 6 and 10 kms. Elevation again and loss is not significant.
- Breakfast, picnic, or light lunch at Rifugio Citelli (depending on the weather), dinner and hotel included.
Day 4 (September 17)
This morning's destination is Cavagrande and the Necropolis of Cassibile. As you descend the scenic ravine, you will discern the thousands of tombs that were carved from the living rock more than 2,000 years ago. The graves date from the 11th to the 9th century BC. when the Iron Age Sicels tribe inhabited eastern Sicily before their eventual assimilation Magna Grecia.
This hike combines the natural beauty of the ravines with the fascinating and eerie remnants of this past civilization. You will enjoy lunch at a nearby local trattoria, which is half farm-shop, half trattoria, and 100% delicious. Afterward, you leave the Iron Age legacy of the Sicels for over-the-top-baroque as you arrive in Noto, a UNESCO World Heritage site thanks to its spectacular Sicilian Baroque architecture. You stay in the town center in a renovated noble house transformed into a 4-star boutique hotel.
- The Hike: total distance 6 km / 3.7 ft
- Total elevation gain 325 meters / 1066 ft, total elevation loss 320 meters / 1050 ft.
- Dinner in the village. Overnight Noto. Hotel, breakfast, lunch, and dinner included.
Day 5 (September 18)
After breakfast, a short transfer takes you to Noto Antica, where the town of Noto once stood before it was destroyed by a powerful earthquake in 1693. You hike down into an impressive canyon dotted with the ruins of ancient water mills and tanneries built by the Arabs during their 250-year occupation of the area in the 8th–10th centuries.
You continue to a beautiful family-run Masseria that used to be an olive oil mill and now a four-star hotel. You have a light but very refined lunch. This afternoon, you have a very special visit to the Cantina Zisola. This beautiful wine estate is owned and operated by the Marchesi Mazzei, famous for their historic Fonterutoli winery in Tuscany. Here, you will taste their excellent Nero d’Avola, the quintessential red wine of Sicily. They return you to Noto in time to explore the town as the setting sun bathes the honey-colored tufa stone in golden light. Tonight is a "free night," so you can choose where you wish to dine.
- The Hike: total distance 14.4 km / 8.9 miles
- Total elevation gain 834 meters / 2736 ft. Total elevation loss 827 meters / 2713 ft.
- Overnight Noto. Breakfast, lunch, and hotel included.Dinner is not included.
Day 6 (September 19)
Today, you head towards the sea and enter the Vendicari Natural Reserve for a coastal hike along beaches and dunes to the evocative ruins of a 17th-century tonnara, a seasonal tuna-fishing village that was active until 1944. You have time to swim before taking you to an adjacent agriturismo for another delicious lunch. They will then transfer you to historic Siracusa.
The hotel is in the old part of town, situated on the tiny island of Ortigia. This afternoon, You have free time to wander amongst Ortigia’s captivating Baroque neighborhoods, squares, and seaside promenades. Dinner in the village at a lovely small family-run trattoria.The
Hike: total distance 9.2 km / 5.7 mls. Total elevation gain / loss is insignificant.
- Duration: About 3 hours
- Overnight Siracusa / Ortigia. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and hotel included.
Day 7 (September 20)
Start with an early morning visit to Siracusa’s bustling farmer's market. It’s a cacophony of vendors hawking their wares, selling everything from fresh fish and seafood to every kind of fruit and vegetable you can imagine. After a mid-morning coffee or iced granita, you meet the local Ortigia-based guide for a guided visit of Ortigia, whose history spans thousands of years. They will drive you to the Siracusa archeological park, which reveals that Siracusa was the largest Classical Greek settlement in Magna Grecia.
After the visit, weyou return to the market area for lunch at a local institution, “Fratelli Burgia.” There you can create a completely epic panino of local cold cuts, cheeses, and “verdure sott'olio”. After lunch, you have some free time to further explore Ortigia, perhaps from the sea as it is possible to circumnavigate the island on a small “tourist boat.” Or you may choose to join the locals for a swim from one of the jetties accessible from the city walls. The final dinner together is another celebration of Sicily’s fantastic cuisine. *The Hike:Urban walking
- Elevation gain / loss insignificant.
- Overnight Siracusa / Ortigia. Hotel, breakfast, lunch at the market, and dinner included.
Day 8 (September 21)
They offer one group transfer this morning to the Catania Airport to correspond with flights departing after 10:00 am. If you prefer to leave later (or have to leave earlier), there are frequent buses to the airport or you can take a taxi. There are also frequent buses to Palermo. Breakfast and one group transfer included.
Please note: Some details of the itinerary may change according to the departure date of your
tour. Whenever they run a tour, they make discoveries. Sometimes they are good discoveries, like a wonderful new trattoria, and sometimes bad, like a trail has been washed away. Therefore, they sometimes change their itinerary to improve it by adding wonderful new elements or by removing something that does not work anymore. Rest assured; they always aim to provide you with the best possible experience.
They will advise you of any changes to the original itinerary before departure.
Included excursions
Day 2
- Farm lunch
- Volcanologist guide on Etna
- Winery visit and tasting at Zisola
- Guided visit of Ortigia and Siracusa archeological park
- All park entrances
Location
Sicily
This tour will take place in Sicily.
You will be arriving to and departing from Catania.
About the Location
Check into your pre-booked hotel, the 4-star Katane Palace Hotel (or similar), in the heart of old Catania. The hotel is 10 minutes by foot from the central pedestrian area of beautiful Baroque buildings, cafes, restaurants, and shops.
Food
First of all, they at Customwalks enjoy their meals! The quality of the culinary component of all their tours is equally important as the hotels, hikes, and guides.
They generally treat their travelers to various restaurants, from low-fuss trattorias with excellent food that locals frequent to restaurants featuring high-end, sophisticated dining. If the group is small, with less than 8 participants, they tend to order a la carte. They offer their guests three-course meals, and you can choose to do an antipasto (starter) with a secondo (meat, fish, or a vegetarian main) or a primo (usually pasta, risotto, or polenta in the north of Italy), all topped off with dessert. So, you can mix and match.
Sometimes, they will order a starter for everyone (usually a mixed plate of tasty delights) to get the ball rolling, and then you can choose from a primo or a secondo. They also typically order “ contorno” (vegetables and potatoes) for the table. You are probably aware that in Italy, vegetables are a side dish (this is not such an issue in France).
If the group is a little bigger, they consult with the restaurants to develop a set menu whereby you can choose between two or three plates for each course. Creating a set-menu helps speed up service, reduces the time the guides need to take to translate the menu, and helps the kitchen prepare the dishes in a timely fashion. They also know the restaurants and what they do best, and they develop these menus to avoid duplication during the week and to ensure you can try various regional specialties.
If you don’t like any of the choices, just let them know, and they will ask the chef to offer you something that appeals to you. They also pay great attention to the restaurants' acoustics, down to reserving particular rooms or tables. Eating together is a social occasion, and nothing is worse than being bombarded with echoey chitter chatter from others or your own tables!
All breakfasts are included in the tour price. Please refer to the tour itinerary to see which lunches and dinners are included. They usually do something casual for lunch and stop at a café or bistro in one of the villages. Your guide will keep you apprised of dinner times each day. Generally, you eat at 19:30.
Note
Wine is not included with dinner because some people don’t drink, and for those who do, some might want to try more prestigious wines while others are indifferent. By not including wine, they feel they can help people to drink what they want.
Most of the time, the guides will suggest different wines from the wine list that they know offer good value for money or are particularly good. (They like to drink well!). They will mention the price, and usually, the group will make a unanimous decision. However, everyone is encouraged to drink what they want.
They often have several smaller tables, so one table might go big, with a Barolo or a Brunello, while another table might choose something more modest but delicious all the same. Whoever partakes pays their portion. Easy peasy. You settle the wine bill at the end of each meal.
The following meals are included:
- Breakfast
The following drinks are included:
- Water
The following dietary requirement(s) are served and/or catered for:
- Vegetarian
- Lacto-ovo Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten Free
- Regular (typically includes meat and fish)
- Pescatarian
- Lactose Free
If you have special dietary requirements it's a good idea to communicate it to the organiser when making a reservation
What's included
- 6 days of hiking
- Guides: A bilingual Customwalks guide accompanies departures of 2 to 8 people; 2 guides accompany departures of 9 to 14 people
- Special events: Day 2 farm lunch, volcanologist guide on Etna, winery visit and tasting at Zisola, guided visit of Ortigia and Siracusa archeological park, all park entrances
- Luggage: Bags are transferred starting with pick-up on Sunday to trip end at the Catania Airport
- Transport: Private van transfers from pick up on day 2 to the final transfer to Catania airports as per the itinerary
- 7 breakfasts, 6 lunches and 5 dinners
- 1 night at Catania / 4 star
- 2 nights at Linguaglossa / 4 star
- 2 nights at Noto / 4 star
- 2 nights at Siracusa / Ortigia - officially 3-star but 4-star quality
What's not included
- Flights
- Airport transfers
- Trains and buses to reach the beginning to the tour and to leave the tour
- Insurances
- Tips
- Private expenses
- Souvenirs
- Anything not mentioned in inclusion list
- Wine is not included at meals
How to get there
Recommended Airports
CTA
Catania–Fontanarossa Airport
5 km
Transfer not provided
Arrival by airplane
Book your flight to arrive at Catania–Fontanarossa Airport (CTA).
Most intercontinental flights land either at Rome’s “Leonardo Da Vinci” airport (also known as Fiumicino) or at Milan’s “Malpensa” airport. However, the closest airport to both the beginning and end of the trip is Catania, which is well connected to the major airline hubs in Europe in high season. Allow ample time between flights if you are connecting. They recommend at least 2 hours to take into account potential delays.
For the most current information, go to the airline’s website. Many low-cost airlines fly between European cities, but they change their schedules so often that they can’t keep up! Most of them don’t appear in standard online searches (like Expedia or Orbitz), so you won’t see the many Ryan Air, Easy Jet, Volotea, Transavia flights, etc.
When searching for flights, please see your preferred airport’s website to see what options are available.
Start to Finish
- Day 1: Arrival in Catania: Arrive and check into your pre-booked hotel in Catania. Dinner is not included so you are free to do as you like this evening. They will send you restaurant suggestions in their final bulletin.
- Day 2: Meet your guide(s) at 09:00 in the hotel lobby.
Arrival by taxi
- 1. Exit the airport terminal and follow the signs to the taxi stand.
- 2. Give the driver the address of the hotel
- 3. The journey takes approximately 15 - 20 minutes, depending on traffic.
- 4. The estimated fare is around 25 to 30 EUR
Alternatively, you can take a short taxi ride from the Catania Central Station to the hotel, which will cost around 10 EUR.
Arrival by bus
- 1. Exit the airport terminal and head to the AMT Alibus stop just outside the arrivals area.
- 2. Purchase a ticket from the ticket machine or the bus driver (cost is around 4 EUR).
- 3. Board the Alibus (airport shuttle) heading towards Catania City Center.
- 4. Get off at the Catania Central Station (Stazione Centrale) stop.
- 5. From the station, walk to the nearby bus stop and take bus number 443.
- 6. Get off at the Via Etnea / Quattro Canti stop.
- 7. Walk for about 10 minutes to reach the Katane Palace Hotel, located at Via Finocchiaro Aprile 110.
Cancellation Policy
- A reservation requires a deposit of 14% of the total price.
- The deposit is non-refundable, if the booking is cancelled.
- The rest of the payment should be paid 30 days before arrival.
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